Politicians forget that news outlets have their official and unofficial agents everywhere these days. Their attention-getting content appears in news stories, weblogs, You Tubes, supermarket tabloids and newspaper gossip columns. So the smart politician knows to keep his/her guard up to avoid words that will provoke a story he/she didn't want from appearing in the … [Read more...] about Put This In Your “He Should Know Better” File
Prop 8 & Race & Obama & The South
So much is being written about Prop. 8 and black homophobia (see for example here, here, and here) that I cannot keep up. Yesterday we learned that Prince Is Anti-Gay (but Ta-Nehisi Coates thinks Andrew Sullivan is "drawing a bizarre line between Prince's homophobia and Prop 8 and black people" via Joe.My.God). Me, I'm fascinated by a tidbit in amongst the barrage of data … [Read more...] about Prop 8 & Race & Obama & The South
Iraq Status Of Forces Agreement: No Time To Break Out The Party Hats
Shock and Awe . . . Toppled statue . . . Mission Accomplished . . . Coalition of the Willing . . . Not enough troops . . . I sometimes wonder what Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Perle feel when they see a photograph like this one. Silly of me, I guess, but it's my own way of trying to imagine whether they have the faintest understanding of the evil that their … [Read more...] about Iraq Status Of Forces Agreement: No Time To Break Out The Party Hats
Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse
I realize that TMV is normally more politically oriented but today we have to take a little time to mark a very special birthday. Eighty years ago today, on November 18, 1928 audiences were treated to the first performance of the film Steamboat Willie starring a young mouse named Mickey. In the nine decades since he has grown to be one of the most iconic figures in … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse
Oil Tanker Hijacked… Could It Be Our Future ?
I must admit from the start that I am somewhat surprised that this story is not getting more play in the media. An Saudi oil tanker has been hijacked by Somali terrorists and is seemingly being held for ransom of its $ 100 million cargo. … [Read more...] about Oil Tanker Hijacked… Could It Be Our Future ?
The Case Against Cuban Smells Fishy
It's all over the business news today that the SEC has charged the billionaire Internet entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, with insider trading. GigaOm's Kevin Kelleher explains why it smells fishy: The SEC’s complaint against Cuban outlines some pretty compelling evidence: Cuban bought 6.3 percent of Mamma.com in March 2004. Three months later, the … [Read more...] about The Case Against Cuban Smells Fishy
An Immigrant’s Son, Obama Promises ‘Significant Progress’ in Latin America: Estadao, Brazil
People in every region of the world are now asking themselves, 'What will the election of President-elect Barack Obama mean to us?' Continuing with our Brazilian work this evening, below is an article written in Brazil's Estadao newspaper by one of that nation's former foreign ministers, Luiz Felipe Lampreia. Lampreia looks around the region and issues his views on what is … [Read more...] about An Immigrant’s Son, Obama Promises ‘Significant Progress’ in Latin America: Estadao, Brazil
Report: Hillary Clinton Will Accept Obama Secretary Of State Job
Will New York Senator Hillary Clinton accept a reported job offer of Secretary of State from her onetime Democratic nomination rival President Elect Barack Obama? The British newspaper The Guardian says she is going to accept it -- and a longtime Democratic strategist says Obama's offer to Clinton and his victory speech signal Obama's intention to make his presidency a "big" … [Read more...] about Report: Hillary Clinton Will Accept Obama Secretary Of State Job
Yahoo Chief Jerry Yang to Step Down
Kara Swisher had it about an hour before it was announced: While did-he-walk-or-was-he-pushed speculation will no doubt be rampant, sources said Yang has and will play an important role in the search for his replacement. Sources close to the board expect the choice will end up being an outsider and likely not current Yahoo President Sue Decker, although she is being … [Read more...] about Yahoo Chief Jerry Yang to Step Down
Elephant Through a Mirror, Darkly
[Note: Originally I was going to post this but then re-read it and, while I was satisfied with the concepts, I thought it came across too much as Freshman-in-College sounding...then I realized that was a perfect tone for the internet. No, actually I came across this post by Jonah Goldberg through this rebuttal, that is a continuance of something I wrote about here. And since … [Read more...] about Elephant Through a Mirror, Darkly
‘What We Owe George W. Bush’: Le Figaro, France
As President Bush prepares to leave the stage, one of his staunchest political friends and allies, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose-Maria Aznar - who was kicked out of office for supporting the Iraq invasion after an al-Qaeda terrorist attack in Madrid - has issued this defense of George W. Bush in the pages of France's Le Figaro. The former Spanish leader says in … [Read more...] about ‘What We Owe George W. Bush’: Le Figaro, France
Virtual Affair; Real Divorce
CNN.com/europe: A British couple who married in a lavish Second Life wedding ceremony are to divorce after one of them had an alleged "affair" in the online world. Amy Taylor, 28, said she had caught husband David Pollard, 40, having sex with an animated woman. The couple, who met in an Internet chatroom in 2003, are now separated. [...] Taylor said she had caught … [Read more...] about Virtual Affair; Real Divorce
Vetting Bill, Considering Hillary
According to the NYT, "President-elect Barack Obama's advisers have begun reviewing former President Bill Clinton's finances and activities to see whether they would preclude the appointment of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary of state." I still think Obama is serious about this (and should be) -- and that he and Hillary could form an effective "Team of … [Read more...] about Vetting Bill, Considering Hillary
Obama and Palin as Publicity Saints
Much has changed since I worked in the Fame Factory as an editor, exploiting big names to sell magazines and, in the circular process, enlarging their status as media megastars. But even in today's climate of disposable celebrities who are quickly used up like Kleenex, there is still the rare publicity saint, where mere mention of a name invokes automatic interest over time, … [Read more...] about Obama and Palin as Publicity Saints
‘Unbelievably, G-20 Meeting was Positive!’ — Folha, Brazil
Is the first world - or what today is referred to as the developed world - really prepared to share decision-making power with the second and third worlds? If Sunday's summit meeting in Washington did nothing else substantial, at least it seems to have convinced some people in the world's up and coming nations that the answer to that question is yes. Kennedy Alencar of … [Read more...] about ‘Unbelievably, G-20 Meeting was Positive!’ — Folha, Brazil
‘I’m Ashamed We’re Even Having This Discussion’
In my introductory post I commented that I would mostly avoid political topics, but this one is too great to ignore. I just finished watching the documentary Torturing Democracy that greatly details our detainee program over the last 7 years. It hits all the points poignantly: the direct authorization from the highest levels; the warnings about legality from both civilian and … [Read more...] about ‘I’m Ashamed We’re Even Having This Discussion’
A Bad Sign For Connecticut Independent Senator Joe Lieberman
President Elect Barack Obama has signaled that his desire for an olive branch to be extended to onetime Democratic and present Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman as Lieberman faces a vote tomorrow by Senate Democrats to decide his partisan political fate. Will he continue to caucus with the Democrats or not -- and will he continue to hold an important chairmanship or be stripped of … [Read more...] about A Bad Sign For Connecticut Independent Senator Joe Lieberman
Obama Coy on 60 Minutes
President-elect Barack Obama drew the highest ratings in years on Sunday night's telecast on CBS's "60 Minutes." He didn't say much we already haven't heard. The only real news between now and his inauguration Jan. 20 will be announcements of his cabinet. There isn't much he could say although the show's producers afforded him the entire broadcast. He's sticking to his "one … [Read more...] about Obama Coy on 60 Minutes
Good Kids Gone Bad
New research indicates that in highly disadvantaged neighborhoods, GPA has a positive correlation with juvenile delinquency. This, to put it mildly, is distressing news, and really throws a kink into how we address the obstacles faced by urban youth. … [Read more...] about Good Kids Gone Bad
Welcome To The Real World, Bill Kristol
Finally, Bill Kristol speaks (some) truth to reality in his New York Times' "George W. Hoover?" The worst financial crisis in almost 80 years has happened on [Bush's] watch. The Bush administration will leave behind probably the most severe recession in at least a quarter-century. Fairly or unfairly, this will be viewed as George Bush’s economic meltdown. But, … [Read more...] about Welcome To The Real World, Bill Kristol